Encourages creativity and interest in electronics, coding, and robotics. Expandable; works with all other Bits modules.

Cons

Initial instructions are slightly unclear. Only six Bits are included.

Bottom Line

This Droid Inventor Kit provides all the fun, accessibility, and inspiration we expect from LittleBits. It's a winner, especially for fans of cute little Star Wars droids.

On the heels of its ambitious Code Kit, LittleBits has another new offering: the $99.95 Droid Inventor Kit. For kids 8 and older, the Droid Inventor Kit lets you build your own version of a lovable Star Wars droid, powered by the company's magnet-connected electronics modules. While the Code Kit is geared toward educational settings, this one is meant for home users. And while it may not come with all the resources and lessons (or the high price) of the Code Kit, it's still a whole lot of fun—and gives kids some valuable familiarity with how circuits work.

What's in the Box?

All LittleBits kits come with its namesake modules. In case you're not familiar, LittleBits kits feature small devices called Bits that connect to one another magnetically. Each Bit represents a function—an input button or a light sensor, say, rather than an individual component such as a diode or resistor. They're color-coded to indicate their purpose, which can be as input, output, logic, or power. You connect them together in a particular order to build electronics circuits for different uses. LittleBits also features a lively community where kids can get inspiration and help.

The Droid Inventor Kit includes six Bits: the Control Hub, DC Motor, Power, Proximity Sensor, Servo, and Wire Bits—everything you'll need to power and control your moving, beeping droid. Also in the box are clear-plastic droid parts, which you build around the circuit. As a bonus, you also get three pages of stickers you can use to customize your droid. There's a quick start guide; you'll need to download a free app as well for the detailed instructions.

Building Your Droid

The quick start guide is a bit weird; the first instruction is to "Build this circuit," and shows a drawing of the circuit, with no helpful words. The second is to download the app (available for Android and iOS devices). But actually, you should download the app first, as it tells you how to build the circuit! I built the circuit before I downloaded the app, of course.

Within the app, animations show you your Bits and take you step by step toward building your circuit and then constructing your droid around it, testing components and functions as you go along. Each step is presented as a "mission" you're asked to accept.

The droid is pretty simple to build; there aren't a lot of pieces, and they fit together well. Some of the plastic parts are a little tricky to put together, though, and small hands may need help. The app even takes you through applying stickers.

Once you've built the kit's version of the droid, you have lots more extensible possibilities: You can, for example, build a different bot body out of other materials to enclose the droid Bits—and those are compatible with other Bits, so you can add components to your heart's content. LittleBits' encouragement of electronics, STEM skills, and artsy DIY is alive and well in this kit.

Driving Your Droid

Once your droid is complete, you can use your smart device to drive it via the app. You can move it in any direction, forward and backward, and in circles. You also get a nice variety of authentic Star Wars sounds to elicit from the droid, and I vouch that they are instantly recognizable if you're familiar with R2-D2 (there's no volume control, though).

The app also offers 16 missions (or projects). These include such fun objectives as building an obstacle course, recording and sending a secret message, and disassembling and reassembling the Bits to give the droid new abilities—such as Force Mode, where you can control it by moving your hand nearby (thanks to a Proximity Sensor).

If your kids (or you) are interested in creating your own code for your droid, LittleBits says that you can via the Swift Playgrounds app, which you can download from the LittleBits website.

Conclusions

The Droid Inventor Kit is another winner for LittleBits, which won't be surprising to fans of the innovative line. While this kit may seem to be a bit more limited in focus than others, in actuality it's just as expandable and inspiring as other kits. Kids will be able to jump right in, quickly get their droids up and running, beeping and whistling—and their creativity can keep the fun going for a long time.

Read More

About the Author

Carol Mangis manages the PC Magazine Digital Edition and PCMag on Medium. Her very first job in tech journalism was at PC Magazine (does anyone remember "After Hours"?), and she has also worked at Consumer Reports as an electronics editor.

LittleBits Droid Inventor Kit

Get Our Best Stories!

This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.